Adhesive Tape for Your Daily Use

Adhesive tape refers to any one of a variety of combinations of a backing materials coated with an adhesive. Different backing materials and adhesives can be used depending on the intended use.
There are several types. Pressure-sensitive tape, PSA tape, self-stick tape or sticky tape consists of a pressure-sensitive adhesive coated onto a backing material such as paper, plastic film, cloth, or metal foil. It is sticky (tacky) without any heat or solvent for activation and adheres with light pressure. These tapes usually require a release agent on their backing or a release liner to cover the adhesive. Sometimes, the term "adhesive tape" is used for these tapes. Many pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes exhibit triboluminescence, observable in a dark room, when peeled off a dispenser roll or other surface.
Water activated tape, gummed paper tape or gummed tape is starch- or sometimes animal glue-based adhesive on a kraft paper backing which becomes sticky when moistened. Water-activated tape is used for closing and sealing boxes. Before closing corrugated fiberboard boxes, the tape is wetted or remoistened, activated by water. The tape is mostly 3 inches (7.5 cm) wide.
Heat activated tape is usually tack-free until it is activated by a heat source. It is sometimes used in packaging, for example, a tear strip tape for cigarette packs. Conversely, thermal release tape, such as REVALPHA by Nitto Denko, loses its tack and fully releases when heated to a certain temperature. This type of tape is used often in the semiconductor industry.

One of the most popular tapes is self-adhesive tape. A self-adhesive tape is a strip of material with adhesive properties, this means that with a slight pressure it can stick to different surfaces at normal temperature conditions. Therefore speaking of self-adhesive tapes, it is meant a special product, i.e. a tape which does not need heat, wetting, or any other elements, but only simple pressure for its adhesion to a surface.